Disease
by videle
Summary: Secrets can be deadly, especially for a sixteen-year-old genius fighting off brain cancer. (Alive!Tadashi)
1. Chapter 1

_NOTES: Alive!Tadashi and for the sake of plot, the legal adult age will be 17._

* * *

Hiro finally decides to set up a doctor's appointment after his headaches start lasting longer and become more painful.

He tells the woman what he's been experiencing. Her reaction doesn't look good.

She fetches another doctor, this time a man. He looks stunned at Hiro's young appearance, which the teenager finds suspicious.

The new doctor asks him about every detail Hiro had experienced with his peculiar headaches. Then he asks, "You are sixteen?" And Hiro answers, "Yes."

None of their expressions calm his sudden nerves.

They take him into a new room where he'll be scanned. Hiro is confused, wondering if this is really such a big deal. The doctors seem uptight, though, so he lets them lead the way to the scanning room.

They inspect the images from the procedure. Hiro notices their faces don't look very reassuring.

Something is very wrong.

* * *

They tell him he might be dying. They say his brain is in serious danger because of a lethal tumor. Hiro shakes it off.

"This is serious, Mr. Hamada. Don't you want to call your parents?"

"No, thanks." And he flees.

* * *

The next couple of days hang over Hiro's head. His headaches continue, and he considers visiting the hospital again. They said they would inspect his scans for a treatment, but he has a hunch they won't find anything.

Hiro heads to SFIT on Monday. Tadashi drives him in the truck he received on his nineteenth birthday.

Hiro always loved car rides. Now? Not so much.

They go separate ways for classes. Throughout the day, Hiro's headaches fade on and off. The only time the pain lessens is when he closes his eyes and lets his mind go blank. His professors won't put up with it, though.

At the end of the day, he collapses onto his bed and sleeps soundly. Tadashi doesn't try waking him, but instead slips Hiro's shoes off and covers him with his bedsheets.

* * *

On Wednesday, he gets a call from the hospital. They want to set up an appointment. When he asks if they've found a cure, they hesitate and say, "Not yet."

He hangs up right after saying, "Call me when you have."

* * *

Hiro is trying to work on his robotics project. He already created the schematics and gathered his supplies. Now he just has to build it.

His head pounds painfully as he attempts to build the bot he's working on. He eventually grabs a cold washcloth and ties it around his head. It works for the first half hour.

* * *

Honey Lemon asks if he's okay when he was rubbing at his forehead and eyes. He just chuckles and answers, "Yup."

* * *

The hospital calls. The doctor insists they need to schedule an appointment, or he'll contact his legal guardian, Aunt Cass.

Hiro goes to the hospital, and they inform him of everything they know. They say his case is different from any other's, and they admit they're unsure if treatment is possible.

They scan him again, and hold two laminated pictures in front of him. The one on the left is from his first appointment a week and a half ago. The second is on the right, and the shape symbolizing the tumor has grown just slightly.

They tell him that time is running out. They promise they'll work on a cure, or at least find a way to lengthen whatever time he has left.

Hiro is numb, only able to feel his headaches. He's in shock, even after a week and a half.

He's unsure of what to do.

* * *

Hiro spontaneously vomits the moment he stands from bed on Thursday, just a day after his second appointment.

Tadashi notices and rubs his back soothingly while he spills whatever is in his stomach onto their wooden floor.

Aunt Cass cleans it for them. Hiro thanks her and Tadashi, and also thanks whatever God is out there when they tell him he can skip a day of college.

* * *

Hiro returns to SFIT on Friday, the next day. He's slightly wobbly, his knees feeling so weak that he walks with them bent.

His friends ask if he's okay. He lies, because apparently that's all he's good at nowadays.

* * *

The teenager visits the hospital on his own accord by the ending of the third week. He sets up an appointment last minute, but they almost eagerly accept his offer.

This time, a new professional enters the room. He checks over the symptoms Hiro has been experiencing, and scribbles down on a clipboard.

They prescribe medicine.

"Mr. Hamada, you need to tell your family about your… condition," the first doctor he visited tells him.

Hiro just gives a shrug and a meek smile. "It's okay, I'm good. I'll tell them soon."

He never said 'I promise', so in his mind that means he's not guilty when he doesn't confess his problem to anyone.

* * *

Hiro vomits three times in one day on a Saturday. Tadashi is in the garage updating Baymax, and Aunt Cass is out shopping.

No one notices when he vomits one, two, and then three times.

They're busy with their own problems, and so is he. But Hiro doesn't need anyone's help… right?

* * *

On Tuesday, Hiro awakes feeling particularly awful. His head hurts, despite the medication the doctors provide him.

He feels exhausted, weak, sick, and overall horrible. He doesn't want to move. It sickens him knowing what's wrong with him, because now he knows he'll be feeling this way for a while.

Hiro falls asleep in each class a minimum of one time. In his third, the teacher had to wake him up five times. Hiro didn't have the strength to stay awake.

When the professor suggests going to the nurse, Hiro just shakes his head and mumbles, "'M fine."

But he's starting to think he's not.

* * *

At the end of the day, Hiro practically falls into Tadashi's truck. His older brother jokes, "Long day?" and Hiro just laughs.

It feels good to laugh.

* * *

"We've compared the four scans," the male doctor murmurs. "We have some disappointing news, Hiro."

It worries Hiro that they're using his first name now.

"What?" he asks.

"The tumor is growing very rapidly. At this pace you'll be experiencing worse symptoms and problems. However, your family and friends-"

"No," Hiro interrupts. "They don't need to know."

"Hiro, you know we have to-"

"No you don't," Hiro growls. "My seventeenth birthday is in a couple months. I can handle myself then."

A moment of silence passes.

"I don't think you have that long, Hiro."

* * *

Hiro is starting to reconsider his decision to not tell anyone. He doesn't want to be remembered this way. He doesn't want to be seen as "The Genius 16-year-old Who Lost His Life to Cancer." He doesn't want to be on the headline.

He certainly doesn't want to be in a hospital bed either.

So what is he supposed to do?

Soldier on.


	2. Chapter 2

/

Tadashi suggests they go to an amusement park. Hiro hesitantly agrees.

The crew and Aunt Cass are coming along too, which worries Hiro even more. How is he supposed to keep his secret from so many loved ones? Yes, he's done it before, but at an amusement park? Where he's ten times more likely to vomit and/or pass out?

Hiro gets up the day before with an uncomfortable numb feeling in his right leg. He fidgets in discomfort, hating the sensation of pins and needles. He doesn't think twice about it; he probably just slept on his leg wrong.

/

Hiro stubs his toe on one of the steps up to his and Tadashi's room. He yelps instinctively, but then he realizes… he barely felt anything.

Why is his body failing him?

/

The teenager doesn't tell his doctors he's going to an amusement park. They'd probably just say, "No! That's too dangerous!" But really, the worst that could happen is he passes out.

/

Hiro sits in the back of Tadashi's truck, staring at the blue sky from the window. He doesn't dare look any lower, because he knows the passing scenery will make him feel nauseated.

Aunt Cass sits in the passenger seat while Tadashi drives. They're humming along to a catchy song, and when Aunt Cass asks if he's okay, Hiro replies, "I don't know this song, sorry."

/

The beaming sun makes Hiro's eyes sting. His mild headache began flourishing into more pain, and the teenager quickly turned to Aunt Cass.

"Aunt Cass, it's really bright. Can I get some sort of sunglasses?"

Tadashi hovers back and slips his SFIT cap off. He places it onto Hiro's head, chuckling. "There ya go."

Hiro grins, genuinely happy.

/

Hiro survives two rides, which weren't very wild. GoGo is complaining, but that's just because none of the rides are fast or dangerous enough for her. Wasabi is looking ill, Honey Lemon is excited, and Fred is cheering. Meanwhile, Tadashi and Aunt Cass are laughing.

Hiro quickly excuses himself to the bathroom once they finish the third ride. He sprints to the bathroom once he's sure they can't see his panic.

The moment the teenager gets into a stall, he's vomiting violently. He's dizzy and disoriented, feeling weak and worthless. He's worthless because he can't even stop himself from ruining people's day.

When the raven-haired boy returns to the group, they bought snacks. Tadashi offers him a package of cotton candy, which Hiro would have loved less than six weeks ago.

Despite how his stomach is churning and he feels gross from being ill, he takes the cotton candy and manages to keep a small bit down. He tries not to taste it.

/

The rest of the day, Hiro manages to get himself out of more rollercoasters by insisting he wants to visit the little petting zoo linked to the amusement park. GoGo escorts him, strangely enough.

When Hiro and GoGo find themselves under a wooden canopy, sitting across from each other on a picnic table, they enjoy the serenity.

Until GoGo whispers, "I know you're sick."

Hiro's breath hitches. He stares at the young woman for a short moment, and suddenly, he feels like puking again.

"W-what?" he gets out.

"Don't play dumb, Hiro," GoGo sighs. "I know what's going on with you."

"You do?" Hiro queries softly.

"Yes." A pause. "My uncle is a doctor at the San Fransokyo Hospital. He helped with your case."

"He TOLD you?!" the boy splutters.

"Yes," GoGo admits. "Because you didn't tell anyone before. He convinced the other doctors and specialists that if I could take care of you, no one else would have to know."

Hiro stares at her. His eyes are watering, and the thought of crying makes his head ache even more.

"So… you're not going to tell anyone?" the sixteen-year-old asks quietly.

"I won't tell anyone," she answers. "BUT, you're going to have to tell everyone eventually."

"I know…" He wishes he didn't have to, though.

"Hiro, you don't have forever anymore," GoGo murmurs. "You should know… when I heard the news, I may or may not have spent hours crying on and off."

Hiro blinks at her, eyes wide and jaw loose. She CRIED? GoGo has never cried… or at least not that anyone has heard of.

Before the boy could speak, she continues, "You're my friend. And more importantly, you're THEIR friend. You need to tell them soon. You don't want to wait until you're stuck in a crappy hospital gown and bedsheets, preparing to die."

And there she is, being blunt and realistic as always.

Hiro nods slowly. "I know. I just-" He chokes, a lump forming in his throat. "I just don't understand how all this could've happened to me."

"Me neither," is GoGo's response.

She gives him a hug, then they resume exploring the petting zoo.

When they return to the group, GoGo keeps her promise.

It seems Hiro isn't the only one good at lying.

/

Another hospital visit, and they tell him he's losing more time.

"Do you want to call someone?"

"No."

/

Hiro seems to have trouble balancing himself. He finds difficulty in getting out of bed without stumbling or falling. He has trouble reaching up to high places. He can't seem to run or jog anymore.

He's running out of time.

/

He's in his SFIT lab now, working on his robotics project again. But as he stands over the bits and pieces he somehow managed to put together, he pauses.

He stares down at the tools in both his hands, and the one sprawled across the table.

"What was I doing?"

He doesn't remember.

So he turns and falls asleep on his couch.

/

A day later, he gets a call from the hospital. They just want to check on him, and see how much the tumor has grown.

After they scan his brain, and take him back into the usual plain white room, a familiar specialist ambles in.

"Hello, Mr. Hamada," the doctor greets. "We've compared your most recent scans to your oldest, and…" The man hesitates.

"I'm sorry, Hiro. You have less than three months left."

Silence.

"Do you want to call someone?"

"...No."

/

One day in class, Hiro is rubbing at his temples and avoiding the text on the paper in front of him. Reading makes his headache double, and he feels like vomiting.

"Mr. Hamada!" he hears his professor exclaim. Hiro shoots up, eyes wide. His professor glares at him, then gestures to the whiteboard. "What's the answer to the equation?"

Hiro's eyes flicker over to the written equation. There's numbers, parenthesis, letters-why are they moving?

"I don't know," he mumbles.

He hears a few of the students snicker. They think he's some perfect prodigy kid, but he's not. He can only wish.

/


End file.
